Foot guard



Jilly 12, 1938. J sRlER'gT AL 2,123,417

- FOOT GUARD Filed June 23, 1956 I/VVE/V TORS. Jo/1w GRIE-R; Lou/s J. HOPKINS.

Patented July 12, 1938 UNITED STATES FOOT GUARD John Grier, Fullerton, and Louis J. Hopkins, Wasco, Calif.

Application June 23,

6 Claims.

In the drilling and maintenance of oil wells or other deep bores, long stands of pipe or tubing are racked in a corner of the derrick and are pushed into position to be racked by a floor man, and when in proper position, the driller releases a brake which permits the stand of pipe to drop onto the floor of the derrick. The floor man frequently places his feet in such a. position that when the pipe is allowed to drop, it will rest on his feet, causing painful, and sometimes serious injury.

An object of our invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive foot guard which may be mounted on the floor of the derrick and which is provided with a novel guard plate so arranged that the feet of the floor man cannot be put under the pipe or tubing while it is being handled.

Another object is to provide a foot guard of the character stated, which is adjustable to provide for increasing or decreasing stands of pipe in the derrick.

Still another object is to provide a novel guard plate on the foot guard which will deflect the stand of pipe away from the operator when the pipe is dropped onto the floor of the derrick.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention may appear from the accompanying drawing, the subjoined detailed description, and the appended claims.

In the drawing Figure 1 is an isometric View of our foot guard in position on thefloor of the derrick.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of the foot guard and one of the frame members.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral I indicates the floor of the derrick upon which the stands of pipe 2 rest.

A frame 3 is preferably U-shaped and may be formed of tubular or solid members, as desired. As here shown, the frame is tubular and is con structed of three lengths of pipe welded together at the points of intersection to form a substantially U-shaped structure. The frame is secured to the floor I of the derrick by means of a plurality of bolts, lag screws, or the like, 4. These bolts extend thru the members of the frame and into the floor of the derrick, substantially as shown in Fig. 1.

A rail 5 is fixedly attached to the frame 3 and preferably across the back thereof, for the purpose of holding the pipe stands 2 within the frame, and particularly, the first row of pipes.

1936, Serial No. 86,786

That is, this rail prevents the floor man from pushing the stand of pipe back of the frame 3.

A guard plate 6 extends transversely between the side members of the frame 3. This guard plate consists of an inverted V-shaped hood 1, the outer edge of which is curved upwardly, as shown at 8. The purpose of this curved edge is to serve as an abutment against which the toes of the operator will strike if the feet should be moved too close to the guard plate.

The guard plate is reinforced by a tube 9 which is welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the hood. The tube 9 will prevent the hood from buckling if weight is placed upon the hood, such as when the stand of pipe is dropped onto the hood. The guard plate is adjustable in the frame by means of two hook pins Hi and H, which pins are adapted to fit into any one of the series of holes l2, 13 in the frame 3. As the size of the stack of pipe increases, the guard plate can be moved outwardly by lifting the guard plate up and dropping the pins Ill and H into the adjacent holes in the frame. The pins l0 and H are preferably welded or otherwise fixedly attached to the peak of the hood 1, as shown at N.

In using the foot guard, the feet of the operator willnever get inside of the guard plate 6 while pipe is being handled. This guard plate is of sufficient height that the operator is instantly aware of the danger to his feet because he would stub his toes against the edge 8. Even tho the pipe were dropped fairly close to the feet of the operator, the inclined inner side of the hood I would deflect the pipe inwardly and away from the feet of the operator.

Hjaving described our invention, we claim:

1. A foot guard comprising a frame and a substantially inverted V-shaped guard plate extending transversely of said frame, and a reinforcing tube in the guard plate.

2. A foot guard comprising a frame and a substantially inverted V-shaped guard plate extending transversely of said frame, a reinforcing tube in the guard plate, and means adjustably securing the guard plate to the frame.

3. A foot guard adapted to be mounted on the floor of a derrick, comprising a substantially U-shaped frame, a guard plate extending transversely of the frame, means adustably securing the guard plate to the frame, said means comprising a pin on each end of the guard plate, and said frame having holes therein to receive said pins.

4. A foot guard adapted to be mounted on the floor of a derrick, comprising a substantially U- shaped frame, a guard plate extending transversely of the frame, means adjustably securing the guard plate to the frame, said guard plate comprising an inverted V-shaped hood whereby deflecting walls are provided.

5. A foot guard adapted to be mounted on the floor of a derrick, comprising a substantially U-shaped frame, a guard plate extending transversely of the frame, means adjustably securing the guard plate to the frame, said guard plate comprising an inverted V-shaped hood whereby deflecting walls are provided, said means comprising a pin in each end of the guard plate, said frame having holes therein to receive said pins.

6. A foot guard adapted to be mounted on the floor of a derrick, comprising a substantially U- shaped tubular frame, a rail at the rear end of the frame, a guard plate extending transversely of the frame, means adjustably securing the guard plate to the frame, said guard plate including an inverted V-shaped hood, and a reinforcing tube attached to the hood.

JOHN GRIER. LOUIS J. HOPKINS. 

